Turkmenistan

On a typical misty November day an excursion up to the plateau of the Kopet-Dag Mountains is a rewarding thing to do. Hiking is not permitted in the vicinity of the border to Iran, but there is a cable car that was installed in 2006. We had originally planned to hike from the bottom station to the top station, but were not...

The Karakum desert forms much of the landmass of Turkmenistan. Most people connect images of camels with the African Sahel zone or the outback of Australia. In the Karakum, wide areas of fine sand or rock without vegetation give way to steppe with sparse grass, where few black goats try to find food. Further out only camels...

Taking advantage of a work assignment in Ashgabat, and having visited the Door to Hell, we sought out the famous Health Path Saglyk Yoly. Before arriving we saw its photographs on Google Earth, posted like a string of pearls along the ridge contour of the southern mountain range, the Kopet-Dag.
As an encouragement to...

Köw Ata is a thermal lake fed by a spring in a cave that is 65 meter underground. It is easily reached by asphalt road, 150 km west of Ashgabat.
The entrance is hidden at the foot of a hill, from where 65 steps lead down into the cave. The site is well developed with a kiosk where you can choose between a...